RETHINK BARCELONA Repensar Barcelona, recuperar la Ciutat.

keywords: Repolitization of public space.

Date: :Feb 2005 - april 2006

 
 

txt : All of us, from our own different windows, perceive a city we don´t like, which is not growing as we would like it to grow, but in quite a different disturbing manner. In the last decade, Barcelona has undergone a drastic process of transformation, towards a de-industrialized city. What has been behind this change? Is there any truth in the future promised by the City Council in its promotional campaigns: "Barcelona, posa´t guapa" ("Make yourself pretty!") "Ciutat del Coneixement" ("City of knowledge"), or are we going to have a "Get rich city for the speculators"? What´s hiding behind the
"Barcelona urban model"?
And, ultimately: is this the city we want to live in?
A diverse group of people from different collectives and assocations have organised a programme of discussions and debates on the question of the contemporary city from many different aspects (history, anthropology, architecture, urbanism, economy, ecology, culture, local resident movements, ...).
This is structured in a number of discussions on the following topics:
1 participation-selfmanagement-autoconstruction
2 property-possession-use / home-speculation-gentrification
3 conurbation, "urban sprawl" / ecology-economy / density-distribution
4 the metropolis as a cultural space / urban life–rural life

The objective of these discussions is to open up a process of debate and reflection on the different aspects of the urban phenomenon.
We are rediscovering ideas and urban models that emerged in the past but have often fell into oblivion.
These discussions also aim to create a meeting point for different people and associations from different backgrounds and also for interdisciplinary exchange.
We hope to develop a common set of criteria and data to use as a base for voices critical of and alternative to the official model promoted by the city fathers.
Full program
in:
http://www.repensarbarcelona.org/

Organized by:
Plataforma Veïnal Contra l'Especulació - Coordinadora Contra l'Especulació del Raval -
Arquitectes Sense Fronteres - Ateneu Enciclopedic Popular - Ciutat Cooperativa - Fundació d´Estudis Llibertaris - Oficina d'Okupació - Dep. Antropologia UB - Seminari d'Habitatge, Espai Públic i Precarietat del C.S.O Miles de Viviendas - Sitesize - Platoniq